Dear Friends,

I heard about the benefits of weekly 'awe-walks' this week. You can read about them here. The act of deliberately being awed, it turns out, improves with practise. It helps us to get better at being grateful, and compassionate when we regularly experience the 'healthy sense of proportion between your own self and the bigger picture of the world around you' that awe brings. This regular practise of being awed, being grateful and compassionate and knowing that we are both small and yet priceless in the universe is at the heart of the discipline of coming together for Christian worship. What may be newly proven is unsurprisingly an ancient practice. And while we are kept apart I encourage us all to take time every week to perform an awe-walk or similar. And do it in the company of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ask God to show you your place in His love as you walk on the outside or look closely at a thing of beauty. 

I suppose this is a kind of mindfulness which most people, myself included, think is a life-giving discipline. After all, mindfulness occurs in the Bible, and the first time we come across it, it is God who is doing the mindfulness. Psalm 8 tell us that God is mindful of us. God takes hold of us in God's mind allows us a place there where we fulfil our potential and act out our best selves. God dreams loving dreams for us and thinks the best of us. 

How can I choose to think the best in the anger and confusion we are living through? Maybe on my awe-walk I can ask God to help me be mindful of others the way that God is mindful of me; holding the best of them and myself in my mind and knowing that we are loved and valuable in the universe because God is mindful of us.

If you would like to come and find a place of peace, welcome and sanctuary, the church building will be open from 1-3pm every Monday - Thursday until 3 December. All are welcome. There is much to inspire awe in the beautiful church building.

Our services, and Bible Study and choir rehearsals return to Zoom  and details are on the website. Sadly those without digital means to connect will only have phone calls to help them stay in touch so I urge you to please continue to look out for older neighbours and family. 

If you can, please bring food donations to the church. These will be distributed through Regenerate-RISE who will now be moving to a free daily hot meal service for all older people who are members or who are referred. Regenerate-RISE will continue to provide supply bags and calls, phone bingo and birthday treats as the crisis for older people continues. We are looking for more volunteers to deliver and make calls, so please look on the website to see how you can do that.